On taking a photograph or a movie, besides directly illuminating from a light source to a shooting substance, a reflector is often used for diffusing light from an illuminator in order to adjust the emitted light from an illuminant as the light source for making suitable light to the shooting substance depending upon the circumstances, kinds and the like of the shooting. Two kinds of reflectors are generally used for such purposes, one of which is a parasol type reflector, the other being a box type one.
The conventional parasol type reflector has a generally similar construction of a normal parasol but is used the inner surface of the top cover as a reflecting surface for the purpose of causing diffusingly reflection of the illuminating light. In order to support the reflector with the illuminator, an aperture is formed in the illuminator to be adapted for inserting a stick of the parasol to face the reflecting inner surface to the illuminant, thereby causing the illuminant light to diffuse and reflect toward the shooting substance. On the contrary, the other box type reflector has a configuration of a substantially pyramid-shaped box, the four side walls of which serves as a reflection surface and light permeable diffuser screen being covered over the opened fore end area. This type reflector is installed to the illuminator for accommodating the illuminant therewithin so that light emitted from the illuminant is caused to diffusingly reflect on the reflection surface, then further bringing about additional diffusing upon passing through the diffuser screen, thereby ensuring uniform illumination to the shooting substance with wide range not going to waste. The thus constructed two types of reflectors are installed to an illuminant if occasion requires on taking a photograph or movie. However, since they are bulky in their fabricated states, it is essentially required to be kept in a compact form when out of use, and to attain easy and quick assembling to the operable form at the time of use.
In this instance, the parasol type reflector which is constructed similar to a parasol has such advantages that it is adapted to be installed to the illuminator merely by opening the top cover and inserting the stick into the holding aperture. The reflector can be compactly folded in a similar manner by closing the parasol when it is not used. However, this type of reflector has an inherent drawback that considerable amount of light will be unavailingly spreading out everywhere to become worse the illuminating efficiency.
On the other hand, the box type reflector is superior in illuminating efficiency to the parasol type one due to the fact that the spreading light can be substantially eliminated. In order to form this reflector into collapsible pyramid shape, it is required to have several number of supporting ribs along respective edges of the pyramid as a framework, a fitting member for fixing ends of the ribs and a connecting member provided around the illuminator so as to allow installation of the reflector. Therefore, a detrimental disadvantage resides in the box type reflector that the structure of the device is complicated and increased members to be assembled, and further becoming costly as well as very troublesome of mounting and dismantling the same to and from the illuminator. Actually, commercially available box type reflectors take 10 to 15 minutes for installing to the illuminator.